Follow the Leader
by Kat Lee formerly Pirate Turner
Summary: Leonardo must decide rather or not he'll continue as leader after they lose one of their own. Drabble. Character Death.


Title: "Follow the Leader"  
Author: Kat Lee, formerly Pirate Turner  
Rating: R  
Summary: Leonardo must decide rather or not he'll continue as leader after they lose one of their own.  
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, names, codenames, places, items, fandoms, titles, and etc. are always © & TM their respective owners, not the author, and are used without permission. Any and all original characters and everything else is © & TM the author and may not be reproduced in any way without the author's express, written permission. The author makes absolutely no profit off of this work of fan fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.  
Author's Note: 244. That's the number of stories that were sitting on my hard drive collecting dust because I lack the energy and time to take care of them as I once did. My betaing pattern has always been to write, then type up if written on paper, the story, read it aloud to my beloved Jack and our children, editing as I go, and then finally format and post. Sadly, this part is simply taking too much of my time and energy, and my beloved Jack and I have too little time together in person these days to be able to keep up with my stories. So what to do? Give up writing? I actually considered it for a while, tried to make excuses to myself other than the large number of stories collecting cyber dust on my computer, as to why I lacked the energy and Muse to write new tales. And then, with the turn of the new year, I decided to stop running and face the problem. The problem is, quite frankly, that once one gets so bogged down in formatting and editing that writing is no longer a pleasure but the actual posting of those writings becomes a hassle and - egad! - work, it's time to cut something out, and that will never be the writing process. So, in short, yes, there will be mistakes in this tale. Yes, it's missing about half of the header information I usually include. But I wrote it for pleasure and am posting it in hopes of sharing that pleasure with others. Do with it as you will.

He had been up all night, studying, meditating, and praying. It was nothing unusual for his life as his brothers' leader in battle to be trying, but this had been the most difficult night of them all so far. They had lost one of their own. They had lost April.

Leo still couldn't believe it. He had just warned her to hush her belittling of their enemies when Rocksteady had pulled out his gun and blew her head away. Michelangelo had set to screaming; Leo could still hear his little brother's screams echoing in his head. Donatello had fallen to his knees and wept, and Raphael . . . Raphael now had blood on his hands, because in the very next minute, he had killed Rocksteady with his bare hands.

Leonardo reverently shut the big, black book he'd been studying since they'd come home. His teary eyes looked up through the open manhole cover into the fading night lights of the city that never slept. It didn't seem possible, but it was. April was gone. He'd asked her not to come with them. He'd pleaded with her to stay where it was safe.

Leo let his eyes shut. He'd done everything in his power to get her to stay short of commanding her to do so. He'd tried that before and knew from experience that it didn't work. It wouldn't have kept her safe. It wouldn't have kept her alive.

Silent tears tracked down Leo's beak, but at last, he understood. He had done nothing wrong. He could have done nothing different to save his friend. His green fingers stroked the book's well-worn, leather covering. He sensed his father's approach but neither looked up nor wiped away his tears. His friend's death was not his fault.

Splinter's voice was gentle as he asked tenderly, "Have you made your decision, my son?"

"I have."

Splinter's tail whisked slowly. "Whatever decision you make will be the right one."

Leo opened his eyes and gazed into his father's. "You've always had such faith in me, Sensei."

"A father should always have faith in his son."

"And a son in his father." Splinter nodded. Silence passed between them, and then Leo began, "Raphael is too rash; he does not think clearly. Donatello could match wits with Einstein himself, but he is not as quick-witted on the battlefield. Michelangelo . . . Mikey has a tenderness to his heart, Sensei, that I admire but do not know how it has survived. Yet, it has, and I would not darken his heart, or dampen his spirit, for anything in the world." Leonardo had sat rigidly up until this moment, but now, his shoulders slumped and his head lowered. "I will retain the title and, more importantly, the duties of leader."

Splinter placed a hand on his oldest son's shoulder and stroked him softly. His tail again gave a gentle swish. "You have made the right decision, my son. I know leadership is a burden, but you are the one most fit to bare this burden for many of those same reasons you spoke."

"Is that why you chose me, Sensei?"

"For all those reasons and more, yes. You are the right person, my son, to lead your brothers both on and off the battlefield. I know what is in your heart and soul, and you will succeed."

Leo nodded shortly, his eyes turning heavenward. "As long as I follow the Leader, I will," he spoke, rephrasing words Splinter had told him long ago when he'd first chosen him for leadership.

Splinter nodded; his paw clasped his shoulder. "As long as we follow Him, we can not go wrong. We may bend, but He will never let us break."

"Amen."

Leo stood as Splinter pulled him into a hug. "It was her time, my son."

"I know." But what was left unsaid was that they'd miss their friend forever.

**The End**


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